By Dolores Quintana
Dave Franco and Alison Brie, a married couple in real life, star in Michael Shanks’ gruesomely passionate debut feature, Together. It is known as a body horror film, and it is, but it is also part of the burgeoning horror subgenre of scary romantic comedies. As they say, why not both? There have been frightening rom-coms before, but this film drills down into the pair’s relationship, which is the core of the film.
Here’s the synopsis: “Years into their relationship, Tim and Millie find themselves at a crossroads as they move to the country. With tensions already flaring, an encounter with an unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.”
Together is now in theaters, released by Neon, and comes with my strongest recommendation. Tickets are now available here.
Don’t be afraid, check the trailer out:
The thing that Michael Shanks understands about body horror is that it is most concerned with the flesh, and romance revolves around the merging of the flesh, so he has taken it to its logical, yet fully gross conclusion. He not only directed the film but also wrote the screenplay.
You have a very familiar relationship issue in Together: a disappointed man who thought he was going to achieve a dream and didn’t, so he develops commitment issues that were already brewing in his mind due to his past.
Franco and Brie are amazing in the film, as they are a fully believable couple, with a fully dedicated and self-sacrificing woman, with a man who is slowly pulling away for reasons that he doesn’t even fully understand.
Brie is heartbreaking in the film as she looks longingly at her partner, who simply refuses to give her the love she craves, but whom she has no interest in leaving. She gives of her heart courageously, and is so in love she can’t see the writing on the wall, but she has no problem with setting boundaries when needed. She is the practical one which comes in handy when things go oh so wrong.
Franco is equally compelling as a heel who wants the care of his partner, and can’t live without it or her, but resents her for his personal failures. Sadly, it is an all too familiar scenario in which a man feels FOMO (fear of missing out) for a life he doesn’t have, but would be miserable being alone.
Damon Herriman does a great job as the voice of reason, Jamie, who nevertheless causes friction between the two lovers, even though he’s gay.
In reviews, the word co-dependency has been bandied about, but I really think that the metaphor of the joining of flesh and the deep bonds of love, written for current-day romantic realities, is what it is really about.
Love is that powerful. It can make you do things you thought you never would, make you sacrifice for another human being, and finally, when the scales fall from your eyes, make you realize how deep your love truly is.
As for scariness, there’s a scene early on in the film that is a hors d’oeuvre of the bloody terror to come, which made this reviewer scream out loud. Many human beings want the sex and warmth that a partner can provide, but are panicked at the thought of commitment of any kind, a special torment for many, and Together harvests a bumper crop from those ideas. So much flesh, so much blood, so many painkillers, and one powerful power tool.
But the film is truly funny, crafting moments that naturally give rise to laughs, and the talents of the two actors, who have mostly worked in comedy. Sometimes the chuckles are a bit raw, but horror and comedy are twin genres; horror films that use humor to their advantage are some of the most successful.
Together is an eerily apt romantic horror comedy for the 21st Century. The darker sides of love, sacrifice, the pain of loss, and how love requires you to open yourself up to another person and truly cleave to another human soul, made into a ghastly, symbolic reality, is one that might put you off dating for a while, or it might open your eyes to what love truly is.
